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A Maritime Christmas
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$15.95The Magic of Christmas is always felt strongly in the Maritimes. This collection of yuletide stories is a mixture of true seasonal remembrances and fictional imaginings of the holiday season. Contributions are from over 20 Maritime writers, and touch on all the things that make Christmas so special: traditions, reunions with family and friends, the humour, and sometimes, the hardships. Some of the collection’s contributions are familiar, many are heartwarming, but every story shares the same spirit of the season.
This yuletide collection includes many well-known writers such as Harry Thurston, Steve Vernon, David Goss, Chris Mills, Heidi Jardine Stoddart, David Divine, and more. -
Too Many to Mourn
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95At nine o’clock on the morning of December 6, 1917, the close-knit family of James Jackson and Elizabeth (Halloran) Jackson-five sons, four daughters, their spouses, forty-eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren were happily engaged in their everday lives in Richmond, Halifax’s North End. The women had sent their children off to school; their husbands had gone off to work at Richmond’s dockyard, railyard or sugar refinery. Another day of activity and promise had begun. Within five minutes, forty-six members of the Jackson family were dead, and nineteen were badly injured. Within five minutes their homes, schools, and places of work were completely demolished. Within five minutes the hopes and dreams of a family and community were destroyed forever.
Too Many To Mourn tells the tragic story of the Halifax Explosion through the lives and deaths of the Jackson family. It is a meticulous reconstruction of the personal events of their lives in the face of this disaster, and an affecting account of a community’s endeavours to abide an unfathomable loss.
Now this winner of the Dartmouth Book Award in 1999 has been updated with a new cover.
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Theodore Too and the Mystery Guest
Artist: Yolanda PoplawskaPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$9.95The third story in the popular Theodore Too series finds Theodore Too and Lucy Tug with a mystery to solve. The tugboats, always ready for adventure, hear that Halifax Harbour will soon have a famous visitor-who could it be? With the help of their friends-Dartmouth Ferry, George Lighthouse, Fisherman Murphy and Guy Seagull-they set out to find and welcome the mystery guest. When they meet the beautiful Bluenose II, they make a brand new friend and learn just why everyone loves her.
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Wicked Woods
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$17.95A new collection of ghost stories from every corner of New Brunswick.
Pull up a seat and listen closely-storyteller Steve Vernon has another collection of classic, bone-chilling tales to tell. Steve takes readers from one end of New Brunswick to the other, unearthing dark tales of strange happenings along the way-from the headless ghost that haunts those who pass through Johnville’s covered bridge, to the spirit of a murdered man that guards long-buried treasure at Wolf Point. Drawing on both documented stories and legends passed on by word-of-mouth, Steve sets one spooky scene after another with a storyteller’s attention to every creepy detail, and just a touch of wry humour. It’s as though you’re sitting beside him at the campfire, getting goosebumps as each story unfolds. -
Kiss the Joy as it Flies
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95With all the wisdom, humour, and joy we’ve come to expect from Sheree Fitch, Kiss the Joy As It Flies marks the well-loved author’s move from children’s literature to adult fiction. Set in the fictional Maritime town of Odell, with a cast of exasperating but lovable characters, Kiss the Joy As It Flies promises to be a remarkable debut and a reader’s favourite.Panic-stricken by the news that she needs exploratory surgery, forty-eight-year-old Mercy Beth Fanjoy drafts a monumental “to do” list and sets about putting her messy life in order. Among other things (hide the vibrator!), she’s determined to finally uncover the identity of her secret admirer; reconnect with a lost friend and rival Teen Gaudet; and, most importantly, get her hands on the note her father left her before committing suicide all those years ago.But tidying up the edges of her life means the past comes rushing back to haunt her and the present keeps throwing up more to do’s. Between fits of weeping and laughter, ranting and bliss, Mercy must contemplate the meaning of life in the face of her own death. In a week filled with the riot of an entire life, nothing turns out the way she’d expected.
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Gracie, The Public Gardens Duck pb
Artist: Richard RudnickiPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$14.95Gracie has a nice, comfortable life in the Halifax Public Gardens. Her days are full of swimming in lakes and fountains, napping in bushes, and gobbling up the delicious treats that the visitors to the park bring especially for her. Muffins, popcorn, and peanut butter sandwiches. Yum! Gracie loves the attention and the company she gets from people but she especially loves all the food.
One day, however, Gracie’s favourite people stop giving her food. What’s happening? Why won’t anyone share their lunch? Aren’t they worried that she’ll starve? Despite her best efforts, Gracie’s turned away by all her food sources, and to fill up she has to turn to-well, duck food. And despite herself, she starts to enjoy it.
Gracie, the Public Gardens Duck is a funny and sweet story, reminiscent of classic children’s literature, but with a modern heroine-one hungry duck in search of dinner!
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Birds of Nova Scotia
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$35.00Birds of Nova Scotia has been a highly cherished publication since it first came into print in 1961. To preserve the originality of the earlier editions, this posthumous revision by the Nova Scotia Bird Society and the Nova Scotia Museum has been a long and careful labour. New information on sightings of rare birds and changes of status bring the text in line with current data, without modifying the special qualities of Robie Tuft’s personal style.
Colour illustrations by two distinguished nature artists, Roger Tory Peterson, author of Field Guide to the Birds (Houghton Mifflin) and John Crosby and line drawings by Jjohn Henry Dick will ensure accurate identification of species.
This book has a place beside the binoculars, near every winter feeding station, in the summer cottage, aboard ship and also in school libraries and classrooms.
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Tommy’s New Block Skates PB
Artist: David Preston SmithPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$12.95In a small town in Nova Scotia, Tommy is dreaming about skating on Half-mile Pond. He will skate fast, make circles and fancy figures on the ice, maybe even play hockey…as soon as he has his very own skates. Join Tommy in discovering how old-fashioned block skates are made. Will Tommy’s new block skates be ready by winter?
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Steam Lion PB
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95This is the story of a man born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who became one of the most powerful forces in international trade in the nineteenth century.
Samuel Cunard’s list of interests reads like a history of the Maritimes-shipbuilding in chatham, coal mining in Cape Breton, forestry in PEI, and warehouses in Halifax. But his business acumen and vision extended far beyond Eastern Canada: His innovative steamship Britannia was the first reliable, timely link between the Old World and the New, and the transatlantic transportation of mail, goods, and passengers was revolutionized. The continued success of the Cunard Line is a testament to Samuel Cunard’s brilliance as both a mariner and a businessman.
The first full-length biography of one of the most fascinating figures in mercantile history, Steam Lion is an important and engaging record of a man, his business, and his times.
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It Happened in New Brunswick
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95It Happened in New Brunswick features more than fifty stories about New Brunswick heroes and oddballs, funny happenings and tragic moments, by the province’s favourite storyteller, David Goss.
The stories span New Brunswick’s history and geography, bringing to light unknown characters and events, from the record-breaking bowlers of Saint John to the McAdam pharmacist who invented his own miracle flu medicine, and from Alex Haley’s surprise sojourn in Dalhousie to Campobello Island’s remarkable hermit. The book is divided into six thematic sections, including one of Acadian stories told in English, plus a section of amusing clippings and tidbits collected from old New Brunswick newspapers and archives. -
Canadian by Choice
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$13.95Through the eyes of two recent immigrants we see a strange new world: rural Canada in the 1950s. We follow Gerard and Jane from their arrival on the docks of halifax through months of islolation, bewilderment and terror.Without money and speaking no English, the couple faced many heart-breaking problems, ranging fromunscrupulous emploers to relenting weather. At one point, their only friends were a horse and a Belgian priest.This is a book you can’t put down. you read on with rising emotions, feeling and caring for the people involved,and eager to learn what further happens to them.
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Spuds! Dulse! Fiddleheads!
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$14.00Where’s it found? Is it in season? How is it prepared? Discover the secrets of the many traditional, local ingredients that create that special Maritime flavour.
We have a bounty of food around us, but in order to enjoy it, we have to know what our farmers, fisherman and foragers have known for so long—where to find local food in season, and how it’s best prepared.
Judith Comfort leads us from U-picks and farmers’ markets, through backwoods and waters, to the church supper and home again—all in search of a true Maritime feast.
Included here are 47 kitchens tested recipes and many secrets on the right way to prepare and serve a harvest of the fruits, vegetables, seafood, game, and other traditional flavours of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.
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Prince Henry Sinclair
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$16.95It is one of the anomalies of human history that despite our passion for knowledge, we are still in doubt as to who actually “discovered” the North American continent. According to author/historian Fredrick J. Pohl, the glory should go to none other than Prince Henry Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, who set off on a voyage of discovery for “a very great country” and dropped anchor in Guysborough Harbour, Nova Scotia, on June 2, 1398 almost a century before Columbus’s and Cabot’s Historic voyages.
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Halifax Warden of the North
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$14.95In this new, redesigned, highly readable trade paperback format, Nimbus presents Thomas Raddall’s fascinating historical portrait of Halifax. The story begins with the city’s first inhabitants, the Mi’kmaq, and follows Halifax through time, from the earliest settlers to prohibition and the wartime boom to life in the later half of the twentieth century. It focuses on the city’s historic military role and the effects of its strategic position, chronicling colourful characters, heroes and scoundrels, and the adventure and intrigue of their exploits.
One of Canada’s most popular novelists, Thomas H. Raddall won the Governor General’s Award three times. He is the author of sixteen books, including His Majesty’s Yankees and The Nymph and the Lamp.
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Theodore Too and the Shipwreck School
Artist: Yolanda PoplawskaPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$9.95It’s a beautiful day in Halifax Harbour, and Theodore Too and Lucy Tug decide to visit the Shipwreck School. But when the tugboats reach the ship, there’s no sign of the fish. Where are they? Could they be in trouble?
Theodore Too and Lucy Tug work together to save the day. Hooray for Theodore Too and Lucy Tug, and hooray for new friends!
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Fish out of Water
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing Limited$1.99John Payzant was born in Halifax in 1944. He graduated from Queen’s University in 1968 with a Bachelor of Commerce and quickly moved to Toronto to become an investment dealer and trainee bond trader. For the next twenty-nine years, he worked for various investments dealers, banks, and trust companies on Bay Street. After several years of summer vacations in the area, he moved from Toronto to Lunenburg in May 2004. He is a director of the Lunenburg Heritage Society and a member of the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron.
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East Coast Rug-Hooking Designs
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$24.95Rug-hooking began long ago as a practical solution to the drafty floors in North American settlers’ houses. From those humble beginnings, the craft has evolved into a highly respected art form, and many who have seen the vibrant rugs created by Atlantic Canadians are inspired to take up the hook themselves.
In East Coast Rug-Hooking Designs, master rug-hooker Deanne Fitzpatrick explores and explains the art she loves. Photographs of her colourful hooked rugs are accompanied by her frank and touching stories of life in Atlantic Canada-the life that inspires so many of her designs. From hooking and gathering fabric, to choosing colours, designing, and binding, the entire process is clearly explained. Over thirty playful and dynamic patterns are included-some suitable for beginners, and some that will challenge even experienced hookers. Whatever your level of expertise, this book will surely have you hooked!
Rug-hooking artist Deanne Fitzpatrick is renowned worldwide for her stunning rugs and patterns. Her work is in permanent exhibits at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and the Canadian Museum of Civilization, among others, and she has made frequent radio and television appearances, including on CBC’s Land and Sea. She lives in Amherst, Nova Scotia.
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Nymph and the Lamp
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$18.95A Nova Scotia classic, The Nymph and the Lamp is the story of Isabel Jardin, a strong and sensitive woman, and the men in her life—the stoic Matthew Carney, a living legend, the passionate Gregory Skane, and the innocent but infatuated Jim Sargent. Set in the 1920s, the story unfolds against the wild desolation of Marina, a wind-swept island off the coast of Nova Scotia, as the characters come to terms with their personal contradictions and the demands of isolated island life.
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Theodore Too and the Too-Long Nap
Artist: Yolanda PoplawskaPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$9.95TOOT TOOT! It’s Theodore Too’s birthday, and all his friends are gathering for a party. There’s Macdonald Bridge, George Lighthouse, and Guy Seagull. Cruise Ship Gerta sailed all the way from Germany for the birthday celebrations. Then she went right to sleep. Now she’s taking a too-long nap!
Theodore Too and friends have to wake her up—or she’ll miss the party!
With his cheery red hat and big smile, beloved tugboat Theodore Too has captured the hearts of thousands of visitors to the Halifax waterfront. Now Theodore Too can come with you!
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From the Coast to Far Inland
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95From the landing of the Vikings these stories trace the dramatic evolution of the relationship between aboriginals and non-aboriginals in Labrador; they trace the progress of Labrador from the British conquest to the flowering of the Labrador identity and the rise of the New Labrador Party in the late 20th century. In between are treks through various parts and times of Labrador
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Among the writings: Pierre Berton tracks through iron ore country; Peter Newman paints Lord Strathcona and the Hudson’s Bay Company warts and all; Elliott Merrick, Tony Paddon, the Labrador doctor, and Elizabeth Goudie describe the joys and hardships of life in the central Labrador plateau; Norman Duncan and Michael Crummey bring to life the humour and pathos of those who clung so tenaciously to a barren and bountiful coast; and Richard Gwyn, an adopted son of the province, sketches the rise of the New Labrador Party, a political force bursting with resentment against the neglect and indifference of a distant capital during the last days of Joey Smallwood. -
Taste PEI
Photographer: Anne MacKayPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95Wayne Barrett and Anne MacKay are a professional photographic team that have published numerous books including True Colors A Writer’s Garden, and the award winning Spirit of Place. They live in St. Catherines, Prince Edward Island.
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Sidney Crosby: A Hockey Story
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$5.99Paul Arseneault has played and coached hockey, baseball and soccer. A huge fan of the game of hockey, Arsneault has been following Sidney Crosby’s career since he began to make national headlines in the early 1990s.
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Canada Quiz
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$6.95Who was Canada’s first prime minister? Who created the ookpik? Whose real name was Gladys Mary Smith? You’ll find the answers to 500 questions like these in this entertaining collection of trivia about Canada.
These books are gems for teachers, students, parents, researchers, tourists or anyone looking for a little information and entertainment. Easy and hard questions are intermixed, to appeal to all ages and knowledge levels. Here’s a chance to keep educating yourself and others about this great country. -
Keji
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$17.95This guide to Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site contains the information needed by visitors planning to camp, hike, swim, paddle a canoe, picnic, fish, ski, snowshoe, do research, watch birds, take photographs, or commune with nature. The guide covers services available in the park, from daily programs offered by interpreters to rentals of canoes, kayaks and bicycles. It provides information on trails and portages, with directions and distances, and describes the front and backcountry sites that can be reserved by campers. It explains how to go about reserving a site and how to get the most out of a camping experience.
The guide also describes the natural world of Kejimkujik, a wilderness park encompassing some of the finest unspoiled beauty in south western Nova Scotia. Readers will find sections on the plants, birds, and animals that make Kejimkujik special. Included are descriptions of the cultural history of the park, plus information about the Mi’kmaw people, whose ancestors were the area’s early inhabitants. There is a section on the Seaside Adjunct, the coastal portion of Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site, located on the South Shore. As well, the guide contains charts and maps that will help visitors plan their stay. -
When Canada Joined Cape Breton
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95The Canso Causeway bridges the Strait of Canso, joining the Island of Cape Breton and mainland Nova Scotia. August 2005 marks the 50th anniversary of the official opening of the causeway, a structure that has profoundly affected the lives of people in the region. The controversy surrounding the building of the link, and the subsequent social changes are included here in personal stories by people who lived during the time it was done. When Canada Joined Cape Breton sometimes laughs at the many obstacles that existed to getting to the mainland before the causeway was built, and sometimes reflects sadly on the sense of loss that was felt by people whose existence was under threat of assimilation. Personal recollections offer an intimate look at what the building of the causeway meant and are interspersed with explanations of the historical facts and construction details or the actual causeway itself. For those interested in Nova Scotia history, or intrigued to see the influence of such a structure has on people’s lives, When Canada Joined Cape Breton will provide a compelling and thoughtful read.
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Halifax: Sights of the City
Photographer: Albert LeePublisher: Nimbus Publishing$14.95The attractions and charms of Halifax Regional Municipality are vividly depicted in this full-colour, photographic book. The book highlights greater Halifax’s scenery, historic sites, varied lifestyles, and well-known monuments. All photographs are accompanied by informative captions that place the sights and splendours of the capital region within a historical and cultural context. This delightful combination of beautiful photographs and fascinating historical and local details provides a wonderful keepsake for visitors and local residents alike.
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Birding Sites of Nova Scotia
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$29.95Nova Scotia is a birder’s paradise- the trick is knowing where to go to catch sight of the dainty piping plover, stately blue heron, or cheeky blue jay. This problem is solved within the pages of this invaluable guidebook, which divides Nova Scotia by county, pinpointing the best birding sites, how to reach them, and on-site orientation. Complete with maps and chockfull of useful information such as special birds to see, species of note, and key details for each site (i.e. amenities, points of interest, and habitats), this guidebook is sure to delight the bird fancier in your life, or be a welcome addition to your own feathered pursuits!
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An Inuk Boy Becomes a Hunter
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$14.95For hundreds of years, Inuit of northern Labrador employed their ingenuity, courage, and deep sense of community to meet the challenges of living in a harsh environment. In the process, they developed a rich culture of customs and traditions that strengthened their family and community life as well their relationship with the natural world.
But with the encroachment of the modern world and the depletion of wildlife and fish stocks, the Inuit way of life has changed dramatically. In the authentic voice of a storyteller, John Igloliorte describes the Inuit way of life and the changes that are breaking down their time-honoured traditions. He shares with us the wondrous experiences of an Inuk boy’s life- from his earliest childhood memories, to when, at thirteen, he became a hunter. -
Pirates of the North Atlantic
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$16.95Along miles of rugged coastline, in secret bays and hidden inlets, and even in the busiest ports lurk stories of the infamous pirates who visited the North Atlantic in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. Captain Kidd, Blackbeard, Peter Easton, and Black Bart all came here in search of plunder, supplies, and sanctuary. From Newfoundland to Boston, from Cape Breton to the Bay of Fundy, the North Atlantic was once teeming with highwaymen of the sea.
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Guides of the North Woods
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$29.95Hunting, fishing and woodsmanship are inscribed in North American culture. Once the survival skills of the Mi’kmaq people, they became recreational pastimes for British officers arriving in Nova Scotia in the nineteenth century. The native people became wilderness guides for these ‘sports’, passing on their guiding skills to others. In this book, using their own words, Mike Parker resurrects how native and white men shared the call of the wilderness, traveling miles on foot or by canoe, hunting moose and deer or fishing trout and salmon. The hair-raising incidents of danger, the funny anecdotes, the skills necessary to succeed, and the personality of these men are collected here with respect and admiration.
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The Stories that Haunt Us
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95This latest collection by Maritime Mysteries’ former TV host and actor Bill Jessome includes forty of the best stories collected from around the Maritimes. Using his journalist’s skills, Jessome weaves incredible stories that charm readers and chill our nerves. Maritime Canada has an extensive storytelling tradition and a large part of that storytelling lexicon consists of stories of the supernatural. Many of these stories are told over the generations and Jessome has acquired these chilling accounts by listening to Maritimers at the kitchen table, around the flickering campfire, and when the moon is full.
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Nova Scotia Moments
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$17.95Clary Croft has gathered intriguing historical moments of Nova Scotian history into a readable and informative look at the province. These inspiring vignettes bring together many of the historical events, accomplishments, and unusual details that make up the more interesting aspects of Nova Scotia’s long history. Over four hundred profiles of inventors, radicals, and rogues make this collection the absolutely best volume of popular and fascinating facts and events covering over five hundred years in the region’s history. From Captain Kidd to Prohibition; from the origin of the Nova Scotian Tartan to the first automobile and the origins of our famous lobster suppers, Clary Croft writes with enthusiasm and genuine affection about his native province.
